The Lecture Hall of Tiangang Zhixing Village

The architect Louis Kahn once said that a school originated when a person told several others his insights under a tree; the teacher did not know he was a teacher, and those who listened did not consider themselves students. They hoped their children would also hear such speakers, so a space was built, and the first school was born. In Tiangang Zhixing Village, a pastoral lecture hall belonging to the countryside carries the original meaning of school. It is the builder's manifesto and a moment of self-reflection. It allows the roles of teacher and learner to reverse. It should be like the space under a tree—a simple, open shelter that also creates a sense of freedom and community. Cultivating the soil first is Jialan's consistent principle and the guiding framework for building Tiangang Zhixing Village. The Pastoral Lecture Hall is built along the river, between the residential area and the village gateway. The architects set it as a lecture hall, hoping to establish a connection between the outside world and villagers and to output Jialan's practice-tested values and methodology in rural revitalization, so that villagers can see and perceive the new future that new design and new industries can bring, and envision the possibilities of rural self-governance.